After Rowan took Sabo away from the East Blue, he handed him over to one of the Revolutionary Army's training camp bases.
The location of this base changed every time a batch of trainees graduated, but wherever it moved, Rowan's spatial marker was always brought along.
The next day, Rowan showed Sabo around the place. In particular, after sitting through a class on Revolutionary Army ideology, Sabo felt as though an entirely new world had opened up before him, and he couldn't get enough of it.
After giving Rowan a letter to pass on to Ace, Luffy, and Nami, Sabo decided to stay.
Afterward, Rowan made a trip to Baltigo.
There was no question about Sabo's talent.
But the more important reason Rowan had suddenly decided to bring him into the Revolutionary Army was his bloodline.
Nothing could better expose the ugliness of hereditary rule than a noble from a World Government member nation personally rejecting it.
It was just like Kozuki Oden in Wano.
Before liberating Wano, Rowan had required Oden to agree that the hereditary noble system would be abolished afterward, and this was precisely why.
Once Sabo's thinking was liberated and combined with his own rejection of the system, it would be possible to minimize unnecessary casualties to the greatest extent.
Of course, compared to Wano, the Goa Kingdom would be much simpler to deal with.
Assuming everything went smoothly.
Inside a simple room, Dragon was answering a Den Den Mushi. On the desk before him, at least several dozen Den Den Mushi were arranged neatly in rows.
These days, practically all of his daily work consisted of compiling the intelligence coming in through these Den Den Mushi, then passing the headquarters' directives back down.
"The first half's Route Thirteen? If I remember correctly, his family has already been relocated separately, right? We need to guarantee their livelihood from here on. If we can get them to understand our ideology, they can be moved to one of the fully controlled regions in the second half."
"Be especially mindful of the family's emotions when informing them of his sacrifice. The orphan he left behind needs treatment? Why wasn't this reported sooner?"
"Have Kuma make a trip and take the child to the settlement for the Flevance survivors. I know that place won't be opened up for some time yet, but rules are rigid. People aren't!"
"Pass down the order. If anyone has an illness or disability that ordinary doctors can't treat, they may apply to be transferred to the Flevance survivors' settlement. However, they must undergo a security check before entering, and afterward they'll have to remain there until the base is relocated or the restrictions are lifted."
Click.
Dragon hung up the Den Den Mushi and was just about to look up and ask Rowan what had brought him here when another Den Den Mushi on the desk began ringing.
Purururu...
Click.
After answering it, Dragon frowned.
"World Government agents seem to be gathering in the East Blue? Ginny, because it's Garp's home sea and for various other reasons, the East Blue has always been known as the weakest of the four seas."
"With something like this happening, the only explanation is that they've discovered something in the East Blue. We can have our people follow them discreetly, but if anything goes wrong, withdraw immediately."
"Don't get careless!"
"It's true that the World Government has made far fewer moves against us lately, and that may partly be because everyone has become more cautious. But that doesn't mean we can afford to relax."
"All right. Report immediately if anything happens."
Finally, after more than an hour, Dragon's stream of communications came to a temporary lull.
At present, the Revolutionary Army had Army Commanders leading covert development efforts throughout all four seas, while simultaneously conducting international trade to secure funding.
Meanwhile, on the Grand Line and in the New World's second half, the Revolutionary Army's First Division operated under the guise of the Beasts Pirates.
Beyond that, there were countless smaller locations maintaining contact through isolated, single-line communication channels.
The Den Den Mushi on the desk were all anti-eavesdropping models developed by Vegapunk's research institute, intended to prevent the World Government from tracing the location of Baltigo headquarters.
"Sorry about that. What brings you here so suddenly, Sir?"
Dragon rubbed his forehead.
Rowan didn't waste any time and directly told him about several of the results from his side.
The first matter concerned Vegapunk's request. The giant mechanical soldier had yet to be transported to Punk Hazard, but Borsalino had already been brought over to their side.
He was keeping watch over the place and would notify them immediately if anything happened.
The second matter was to inform Dragon about what had happened on Fish-Man Island.
As for the third before Rowan could even begin, Dragon interrupted him.
"A prophecy made by a mermaid on Fish-Man Island? Do you actually believe something like that, Sir?"
Rowan replied, "Our ideology has always held that mankind can shape its own destiny, so naturally, we consider prophecy to be nonsense. But the mermaid capable of making these prophecies has, in fact, made predictions in the past that all came true."
Dragon's brows furrowed even deeper. "Then what are you trying to say, Sir? That everything we're doing now is meaningless? That the world will sink beneath the sea and everyone will die?"
"No."
Rowan replied, "Perhaps you've misunderstood what I mean. A prophecy only shows a fragment. How that fragment comes about, and what happens afterward, are both determined by what we ourselves do."
"But if that's the case, Fish-Man Island has become extremely important. That's why I chose to cooperate with Whitebeard and even fought him."
"I don't believe I've ever told you what makes Fish-Man Island special before."
Rowan looked at Dragon.
"Just like Wano, eight hundred years ago, Fish-Man Island stood on the side of the Great Kingdom that vanished from history."
"And this time on Fish-Man Island, I also saw the Ancient Weapon known as Poseidon."
"Hm?"
Dragon abruptly shot to his feet.
He knew about the three Ancient Weapons. When they liberated Wano, Rowan had told him about Wano's unique circumstances and the existence of the Ancient Weapon Pluton.
But Pluton lay beneath the old land of Wano, now submerged beneath the sea, so they had never actually seen it with their own eyes.
Yet this time, Rowan was saying that he had personally seen Poseidon?!
Rowan continued, "The mermaid princess who was born not long ago possesses the ability to command those colossal Sea Kings dwelling in the depths of the ocean. She is Poseidon."
"Poseidon... an Ancient Weapon is a living being?"
Dragon was somewhat stunned, but he quickly accepted the information.
Then, connecting it with what Rowan had just told him about the world sinking beneath the sea, he immediately understood why Rowan considered Fish-Man Island so important.
If the entire world were to sink beneath the ocean, then a mermaid princess capable of commanding those colossal Sea Kings would be an invaluable asset.
"You previously told me that the weapon on Mary Geoise can destroy an island with a single strike, and that doing so causes the sea level across the entire world to rise by one meter."
Dragon rubbed his forehead.
"Based on that information, could we assume that the power capable of submerging the entire world comes from that weapon on Mary Geoise?"
"Probably not. Or rather, we don't have enough information yet."
Rowan pulled a sheet of paper and a pen from the desk. After writing down the conclusion that the world would sink beneath the sea, he continued,
"The scene shown in the prophecy is certain to happen. So, assuming our plans proceed smoothly, Vegapunk will use the giant mechanical soldier's core energy source to develop a protective barrier capable of shielding entire islands."
"Based on that premise, if that weapon cannot destroy the islands, then the sea level cannot rise. The world would remain safe, which means the scene shown in the prophecy would never come to pass."
"So..."
Dragon clenched his fist.
"So perhaps the Celestial Dragons' national treasure, or rather, that weapon... truly possesses the power to destroy the entire world!"
"Exactly. Eight hundred years ago, after the Twenty Kings emerged victorious, they all relocated to Mary Geoise. It's the highest point in the world. Even if the entire world were submerged, they would be fine."
After those words, the two fell silent for a long while.
After thinking for a moment, Rowan said,
"What I really want to know is when the Red Line was formed. If the Red Line has existed since the very beginning of this world, then has the sea level been continuously rising throughout that time?"
"Continual tectonic movement pressing in a single direction could cause the Red Line to rise higher and higher. Naturally, something like that could also cause sea levels elsewhere to rise."
Dragon replied, "The Lunarians, King's race. According to Ohara's records, they once lived atop the Red Line and were known as a race of gods. The Red Line existed long before eight hundred years ago."
Rowan nodded. "Which makes a lot of things confusing. But one thing is beyond doubt, Fish-Man Island has become far more important."
In truth, there was one other possibility Rowan hadn't mentioned.
The wings on the backs of the Lunarians made it quite obvious that, like the people of the Sky Islands, they were descendants of people from the moon.
Or perhaps they weren't descendants at all, but products of biological research.
It was even possible that the merfolk and fish-men of Fish-Man Island were similarly products of advanced lunar biotechnology.
Lineage Factors, biological modification, and even the countless bizarre creatures of this world, including the Sea Kings, could all seemingly be traced back to the same origin.
"Then you must already have a plan, Sir?"
Dragon's voice interrupted his thoughts.
Rowan pondered for a moment.
"Now that we've settled matters with the Whitebeard Pirates, Fish-Man Island shouldn't be much of a problem. If the fish-men and merfolk want to live on the surface, their only hope is for us to successfully overthrow the World Government."
"So before the final battle begins, we need to make preparations on two fronts. First, Vegapunk's energy barriers. Second, the Sea Kings that Poseidon can command. We'll have all of them standing by beneath the islands."
Dragon hesitated. "Even if we gathered Sea Kings from across the entire ocean, there probably wouldn't be enough. There are simply too many islands in this world."
Rowan replied,
"There aren't that many large islands. As for the smaller ones, before the final battle begins, we can evacuate everyone living on them."
"But... what I've been thinking about all this time is this. If the rise in sea level is connected to the Red Line, then how do we make the sea recede again?"
"What we intend to bring to this world is revolution, not destruction. So no matter what, we need to figure out how to restore the world to its original state after the seas submerge it."
For a time, Dragon's office fell completely silent.
Purururu... Purururu...
Another Den Den Mushi began ringing.
What followed was nearly another hour of calls, some from the four seas, others from the Grand Line.
Dragon vigorously rubbed his forehead.
"As you can see, Sir, at present I have to handle the development and planning of the entire Revolutionary Army. The allocation of funds to the research institute is ongoing, as is the collection of gold that we discussed earlier."
"The World Government's recent actions have been strange. Previously, their policy toward the Revolutionary Army was to capture us with everything they had, but now they've suddenly stopped."
"I don't believe our members somehow made enormous improvements in secrecy overnight. The only reasonable explanation is that the other side has begun planning something new. We simply don't know what it is yet."
As he spoke, Dragon stood up and rummaged through a storage cabinet for quite some time before finally pulling out an ordinary bottle of liquor.
After pouring two glasses, he said, "Funds are tight, so expensive liquor is out of the question. We'll have to make do with this."
Rowan glanced at him. "We're discussing serious business. Why are you pouring drinks?"
Dragon slowly shook his head.
"When it comes to the overall direction of our future, you've always been the one responsible for it, Sir. You can glimpse fragments of the future, and even in matters of ideology, your understanding is far clearer than ours."
"I may hold the title of Commander, but the person the entire Revolutionary Army respects most is you, Sir. Even though Vegapunk has developed so many incredible technologies for us, he still can't replace the position you hold in the hearts of our members."
"As for what we should do in the future, when it comes to the overall direction, Sir, you've always had your own haven't you? All I can do is take care of these tedious details and keep everything properly organized."
The dozens of Den Den Mushi covering the desk were proof enough of just how many "tedious details" Dragon was talking about.
Rowan sighed and nodded, then stood and drained the liquor in his glass in one gulp.
Sometimes, the people of this world had surprisingly simple ways of thinking.
Even Dragon, in Rowan's memories, had never established a concrete central ideology to bind the Revolutionary Army together.
Even during the so-called Revolution of Eight Nations in the future, their actions had seemed almost like a joke.
There had been no real planning for how those nations would resist what came afterward, or what they should do following the coups.
Judging solely by their known combat strength, the Revolutionary Army at that time simply hadn't possessed the power to openly step onto the world stage.
"I understand."
Rowan nodded, then vanished from the spot.
Back at the G-5 Branch, Rowan dispelled the shadow clone he had left behind and stood by the window, contemplating his predictions about the future.
His infiltration of Mary Geoise had netted him the stats of two Celestial Dragons.
At present, the male and female maggots were still imprisoned within the Prison Space, wailing and begging through their tears.
One was worth 360,000 points, while the other was worth 370,000. Burning both of them would take the better part of half a year.
Once those two sets of stats had been fully absorbed, he would be able to open another Diamond-tier treasure chest.
Rowan glanced at Ryujin Jakka hanging at his waist.
The Prison Space could produce skills and items from other worlds, but things like bloodlines and innate talents could only come from his own world.
In that case... if he wanted to prepare for a future like this, perhaps he should carefully consider what kinds of skills and items from other worlds might prove useful.
Before that, however, he still needed to continue training his swordsmanship.
No matter how much he strengthened his other abilities, none of them would surpass the power this blade could wield once he achieved Bankai.
A king against a king, a general against a general.
Once he mastered Bankai, there should be nothing on Mary Geoise capable of stopping him.
That afternoon, when Rowan went to deliver two Healing Dandelions to the Whitebeard Pirates, he happened to encounter a duel between Shanks and Dracule Mihawk.
Whitebeard, who had originally been displeased that Rowan had arrived three days late, looked considerably happier after receiving the Healing Dandelions.
The fact that Marco was no longer stopping him from drinking was the best outcome he could have asked for.
Shanks and Mihawk had chosen a deserted island where the Whitebeard Pirates were temporarily staying as the site of their duel.
Haki erupted through the air as the two clashed. Their contest of swordsmanship was indeed quite a spectacle, and Rowan, who had been diligently training his own swordsmanship, watched with great concentration.
However, in Rowan's eyes, neither Shanks nor Mihawk had reached Whitebeard's level yet.
They weren't merely a little behind. The gap was enormous.
At the very least, Shanks's Conqueror's Haki had yet to reach the level where it could be crowned the strongest of its kind.
Mihawk, on the other hand, had spent the past few years traveling from place to place, challenging swordsmen wherever he went.
Even Vice Admirals such as Momonga, along with numerous mid-ranking Marine officers, had been defeated by him.
His reputation as the "Marine Hunter" had consequently pushed his bounty to an extremely high level.
After watching for a while, Rowan saw the two finally stop fighting.
Behind him, Whitebeard finished another bowl of liquor and smacked his lips.
"That red-haired brat used to sail on Roger's ship. I saw him a few times back then. Now he's become a captain himself. He's grown pretty damn fast."
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